U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged last month amid economic uncertainty stemming from President Donald Trump’s trade policies and an impending government shutdown.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that job openings edged up to 7.23 million from 7.21 million in July. Economists had forecast a drop to 7.1 million.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that layoffs fell, but so did the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects of finding better work. The report’s measure of hiring last month was the weakest since June 2024.
Job openings remain at healthy levels but have fallen steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022 as the U.S. economy roared back from Covid lockdowns.
The U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023, and partly because Trump’s trade wars have created uncertainty that is paralyzing managers trying to make hiring decisions.
Altogether, Tuesday’s JOLTS numbers suggest the job market remains in an awkward place: Americans who have jobs are mostly safe from layoffs. Unemployment remains low at 4.3%. But jobseekers are struggling to find work.
“Companies are clearly hoarding workers with the economy still at full employment,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary. “It will take a bigger blow than what we have seen so far to convince companies that it is safe and prudent — and necessary — to lay off workers.”
Labor Department revisions earlier this month showed the economy created 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant employers added an average of fewer than 71,000 jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported. Since March, job creation has slowed even more — to an average of 53,000 a month.
On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to release numbers on September hiring and unemployment — though the report could be postponed if a budget impasse in Congress leads to a government shutdown Wednesday.
If the report comes out, it is expected to show employers added 50,000 jobs in September — unimpressive but up from a meagre 22,000 in August, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet.
At their last meeting two weeks ago, Fed policymakers cut their benchmark interest rate for the first time this year to support the sputtering job market. They also signalled they expect two more rate cuts this year.